A pendopo's a fundamental element of Javanese architecture; a large pavilion-like structure built on columns. Either square or rectangular in plan, it's open on all sides and provides shelter from the sun and rain, but allows breeze and indirect light. The word pendopo's a variant on the Sanskrit word mandapa ('hall'). The Dutch writer Multatuli in his colonial reformist novel Max Havelaar described the pendopo as "next to a broad-rimmed hat, an umbrella or a hollow tree, a pendopo's undoubtedl… (More on Pendopo)